Here’s a tale of two colliding trends in Boston tech: the rise of hardware startups and the “maker” movement, and the emergence of crowdfunding sites similar to Kickstarter. They meet at a company called Dragon Innovation, which connects hardware startups with overseas manufacturers. Led by a former iRobot executive, Dragon has just raised its first venture round, and is rolling out its own crowdfunding site for hardware startups. What will come of all this? Think smartwatches, connected sensors, and other devices in health, energy, and gaming.
In other innovation news…
-Bay State business leaders are mounting a campaign to repeal a new tax on software and IT services. The effort could lead to a public vote on the tax this fall.
-In the “stop me if you’ve heard this before” category, Cambridge-based Acceleron Pharma has filed paperwork for a $75 million IPO. The cancer drug developer is working with pharmaceutical giant Celgene, which also has deals with three other Boston companies that have gone public this year.
-And lastly, what’s happening in venture capital behind the stats? Well, more investors are using data and analytics to make decisions and support their companies. Locally, OpenView Venture Partners and Data Point Capital might represent the future of metrics-driven investing. Of course, by the time VCs are talking about the next big thing, it’s usually too late to cash in.
